Ore separator and amalgamator



(No Model.)

- P. J. HOYT.

ORE SEPARATOR. AND AMALGAMA TOR. Patented Oct. 25,1892.

avwawtoz PATENT ()FFICEQ FRED J. HOYT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ORE SEPARATOR AND AMALGAMATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0.

484,933, dated October 25, 1892.

Application filed December 15, 1891. Serial No. 415,144- (No model.

make and use the same.

My invention relates to ore separators and amalgamators for the treatment of tailings and free milling-ore; and it consists of the apparatus as hereinafter described and particularly claimed.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view in elevation, section, and Fig. ing-pan.

Referring to the drawings, A is a central rotating shaft having bearings in a suitable frame B and driven in the usual way by any desired power.

E is a circular pan attached to the shaft A. It is divided into sections 0 by walls C, which have a rounded top, and its outsideperipheral wall is provided with a flat smooth outwardly-projecting ring-plate a. The upper surface of this plate is on alevel with the tops of the section-Walls C.

The section is designated as b,

partly in 2 a plan, of the amalgamat- The plate a'may be, say, five orsix inches wide, the section 1) two inches wide, and the sections 0 four to five inches wide.

provided with a G is a stationary water-distributer above the screen D and provided with openingsff. H is a hopper or chute for conducting the mingled powdered ore and sand and dirt onto used without rotating the screen D and to a point on the screen adjacent tothe central shaft.

The operation of the apparatus as thus far described is as follows: Quicksilver toasmall amount or to an extent which practice may determine as desirable, but preferably nearly the height of the walls 0, or toapoint where the top of the Walls begin to curve, is distrib uted in the sections 0, but not in the outer section b. The mixed powdered ore, sand, and other material are carried through the chute H onto the screen D. The central shaft A having been started gives to screen D and pan E a quick rotary motion. The coarser waste material is carried off the screen D by ceninto the trough F. At the same time and by the same force the powdered sand ore is caught and retained by thequicksilver centrifugal action to the periphery of the pan E onto the ring-plate a and falls into the trough F. The object of the dividing sections is to permit the apparatus to be run at great speed by confining and holding the quicksilver, and thereby preventing the same being thrown by the centrifugal act-ion off the pan and into the surrounding trough. The outer section b is not provided with quicksilver and naturally would soon fill up with sand; but should any of the quicksilver in sections the purpose of not remay be displaced from the other sections. As the material is fed onto the screen D it may be subjected to a bath and thoroughly washed by water forced through spoutIonto distributor Gand through openings ff. When the ore is in avery finelypowdered condition, the apparatus may be the pan and thescreeu The powdered b is made narrower than D,and in such case the sand and powdered said pan and motion is given to said shaft -ore may be forced through the screen 1) by the sand and otherlight refuse are thrown over the action of the water from above and the the rim by centrifugal action and the amalsand and other foreign material forced out of gam displaced by said action from sectionsc 5 the pan E by the same means. The pan E is caught in section b, substantially as demay also in certain cases be used without the scribed. sections a, in which case the quicksilver would 2. In an ore separator and amalgamator for be evenly distributed over the entire bottom treating powdered ore, the combination,with 40 of the pan. At the close of a run the ore and a central vertical shaft, of an amalgamatingro quicksilver may be removed from the pan by pan secured to said shaft and on which the any suitable means. quicksilver is distributed, an ore-screen above By my invention the pulp may be fed in a said pan and also secured to" said shaft, incontinuous stream through the mill and clining upwardly from the shaft, and extendspread over a large body of ing outwardly above the periphery of the pan, 1 5 enabling large quantities of material to be an inclined trough extending around the aptreated in a very short time. paratus and around and below the periph- In certain cases where the pulp is all in eries of said pan and screen, astationary Wapowdered form of a specific size it might not ter-distributer provided withopeningslocated be necessary to use the screen alone and the above said screen and adapted to distribute 2o ore could be fed directly on the pan from the the water over its surface, a water-spout to chute. conduct water to the said water-distributer, Having thusdescribed my invention, what said trough provided with a discharge-spout, I claim is and the apparatus also provided with a hop: 1. In an ore separator and amalgamator for per or chute to conduct the powdered ore z 5 treating powdered ore, the combination,with onto the ore-screen,substantially as described. a central rotary vertical shaft, of an amalga- In testimony whereof I affix my signature in mating-pan secured to said shaft, and propresence of two witnesses. vided with annular walls 0, having rounded tops and dividing the pan into annular sccit FRED J. HOYT. 3o tions 0 for containing the amalgam, an outer Witnesses:

narrower annular section b, and aperipheral WM. H. CHANDLER,

rim 0., whereby when powdered ore is fed to W. H. DQOLITTLE. 

